


Lost Spirits

by aloha_works



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Comedy, Exorcisms, F/M, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Spirits, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloha_works/pseuds/aloha_works
Summary: How Riku'd gotten into the business of arguing with ghosts, he couldn't really say. But here he was.T Rating for swearing, not content. In progress(?)





	1. Is this coming out of my paycheck...?

* * *

 

 

A wild wind whipped through the room. The rainstorm outside was nothing compared to the maelstrom of books and kitchenware that spun in the dining room like a Pampered Chef hurricane, shrieks and screams from beyond the veil holding on to this world with everything they could.

"I said, get your ass out of here!" _Bang, bang, bang,_ the white-haired exorcist yelled while beating a wooden spoon on the bottom of a pan. His words blended in with the wails, the two screaming at each other like siblings getting into a fight, when a shattering of glass cut him off mid-sentence. He didn't look— it would be a sign of weakness and he could _not_ lose focus, not now. That was desperate, that was the spirit losing grip on a can opener and standing on its last ghostly legs.

"You think that's funny? You're not doing that again, windows are fucking expensive! You're an awful tenant, get out of this house." A shudder ran through the building. "This home is not yours, I'm expelling you from these walls. Spirit, be gone from here and don't you dare fucking come back!"

The air went dead. The electric charge that had Riku's hair standing on edge disappeared like turning off a light switch, and once the mugs and magazines came to rest on the beige carpet, it was dead silent. Riku looked around the room, ears still ringing from the distorted wailing, standing with his pan and wooden spoon still at the ready.

_Just the rain now._

"I'm glad we had this little talk," he said, tossing the pan onto the table. He was lucky the table was still standing, the place was a disaster. The carpet was soaked in a mess of spilled coffee and holy water. The salt shaker had exploded, coating everything in a really helpful crust. If the landlord knew half of what had happened in here, they definitely wouldn't be getting their security deposit back.

Riku dragged himself to the entrance and locked the door behind him without picking up anything but his bottles. The cold November rain soaked through his hair instantly, but it felt nice. Cleansing. He let out a sigh and stopped on the doorstep, letting the rain wash the salt from his hair and the screams from his ears, before walking down to the parking lot. Naminé was waiting in the Corolla, halfway through her book, with no idea how pissed Larxene was going to be when they told her how it all went. But for now, just seeing her curled up in the passenger seat, blond hair spilling over her puffy coat, so enchanted by her book that she didn't even see him coming... It was enough to put a smile back on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Riku gave three quick taps on the window, and Naminé looked up. Her eyes were clouded at first, still lost in her novel, but after a second her expression came to life: happy to see him, startled by how cold and wet he looked, focused on unlocking the car as fast as she could to let him in. Even when he swung open the door and half-dove into the driver's seat, she still had her hands up, wishing to help him dry off with the towel she didn't have. Everything about her made him warm, even when it the temperature was edging toward freezing.

"Riku, how long were you out there? I'm so sorry, let me help you..." She turned in her seat, trying to find a towel, but Riku reached out to her, resting his clammy hands on her warm fingers.

"It's alright, it's my fault for not bringing a jacket with a hood."

"You'll get sick—"

"I might, if I can't take you out for lunch."

"Riku..." Naminé looked away, but it was too late. He could hear the building blush in her voice, that delicate crackle in her throat that was just a step outside of her comfort zone, but with that shy smile that drew him in every time.

"It's... going to be my last supper. Larxene is going to hunt me down when she sees what happened to her apartment." Naminé looked back to him, startled. "I'm fine," he assured her quickly, "But her dining room is completely trashed. So let's make this a nice afternoon, alright?"

She nodded, and he started the car. They went back and forth for a minute, weeding out possibilities to the beat of the windshield wipers, before he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. This was the life they shared. Riku wouldn't have it any other way.

 

* * *

[a.r.guile]


	2. It's all fun and games!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does a stuffed animal still count as a creepy doll? For Riku, it's close enough...

* * *

 

 

Riku could tell something lurked in there, watching and understanding what was going on from within the fluff and fuzz. But from the outside? It was a staring contest between him and the stuffed bear. "Look, I get it. You just want some company. But you're scaring people when you show up around the house."

Cross-legged on the hardwood floor of Marluxia's office, Riku was eye to eye with the creature that set a couple kids toward tearing the rest of their toys apart and sticking them back together in ways that made his skin crawl. A pair of siblings, brother and sister, just old enough to make it a haunting or something they should talk to a therapist for.

"Good dolls don't move. They don't make anything move, either. You're not being a good bear."

After the doll was taken from them, it ended up in Marluxia's collection. Why did Marly collect _haunted_ things? So that Riku could take care of them, if the past year was any indication. Naminé asked so nicely if he could help, so as always, it was his job to tame the thing. It all seemed innocent enough, but Riku could feel the thing starting in on him next.

"Good dolls wait for people to come play with them, not the other way around. I'd throw Toy Story on for you if I didn't think it'd give you more bad ideas."

There was a word bubbling up in the back of Riku's mind, a childish little sound that wanted to come rolling off his tongue. Just two little syllables. That was an inch he couldn't give. There was a movement in the pom pom on its head, something just slight enough that it couln't be seen, and a playful glint in the stuffed bear's eye begged him to join its game.

"No," Riku scolded the toy. "We're not gonna do this today. I'll give you til the count of three. One. Two..." The big red pom bounced again, this time with gusto. It definitely moved. The boy stood, frowning. "Time out. You're in time out," he said, moving toward the door of the bedroom. The walls seemed to back away from him, like he was walking through a dream, but Riku stubbornly kept putting one foot in front of the other until he was through the doorway and in the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him until he heard it click.

Time for a breather, at least a short one. If the thing trashed Marluxia's office the way his last job trashed Larxene's apartment, who would handle the check engine light in the Corolla? Riku looked up at one of the many silver-framed paintings in the hall, a woman carefully tending a garden of what was probably poisonous plants. "Who makes a teddy bear with bat wings?" he asked the doting gardener. "They were asking for this."

He pulled his phone out to check for any messages from clients, frowned at the pile in his inbox, and put the phone back. "Hard work is the most rewarding," he mumbled to himself, putting his hand back on the door, but not twisting the knob just yet. Something wasn't right. Keeping his head studiously forward, Riku's gaze slid to the side, following the wall until...

There it was, perched on the windowsill. Riku let out a breath, smiling as it basked in the early afternoon sun. It seemed to be enjoying the scenery. The window overlooked Marluxia's garden, a manicured mix of roses and herbs and who knew what else, with the skyline rising up behind the shrubbery.

"Remember when I put you in time out?" Riku walked over to the doll, lifting it gently below its arms and resting it in the crook of his elbow. His feet began walking him idly from the hallway, out into the ornate white and mauve living room.

Now that they were out of that cramped space, free in the light of the living room, Riku looked down at the doll. "We talked about this already," he told the stuffed bear, voice gentle and almost sing-song. The pair found themselves on the couch, snuggled in amonst the puffy pillows, doll sitting contentedly on his lap while they had their conversation. "You can't pop up around the house, that's against the rules, kupo!"

**_Nope._ **

Riku bowled the damn thing across the room.

He was on his feet in a second, phone in hand before the doll even came skidding to a stop somewhere in the dining room. Thumbs pounded on the screen as he headed for the foyer, sending off a message to Naminé before grabbing his supplies from the car.

_< This is going to take longer than I thought>_

 

* * *

[a.r.guile]

 


	3. The deal of a lifetime.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naminé takes a day off, leaving Riku to run both the business and household.

* * *

 

 

This wasn't his forte: a collection of bones.  
  
Hunks of meat and cartilage clung to the hard bone, frozen into hard spikes of gristle. Who knew how long they'd been kept, saved in the back of the freezer like some horror movie, but he was quickly learning why they were there. As the pot came to a boil, the iceball of bone melted into individual legs and wings and sections of ribs... He was supposed to roast all this before making broth out of them, right?  
  
Naminé wouldn't admit it, but she more than deserved a day off to get over this cold. Riku could handle her side of the business for a few hours, and he could make the best chicken soup he could while he was at it— At least whenever his brother would text him back about the whole bone broth thing. Right on cue, Naminé's phone buzzed somewhere behind him, so Riku put aside the radio silence and picked up the call for— Riku apologized to Naminé as he turned the phone over to see— Axel. _What was his deal, anyway?_  
  
"Hey, I'm—"  
  
"Naminé for the day, yeah, I figured. Listen, I have a client who needs your expertise. Bumps in the night, weird dreams, they've got it all. Set me up with a quote for, say, two, maybe three ghosts of the dearly departed—" Axel cut himself short, and for a second, his voice was too muffled for Riku to hear. Did he just put him on hold by putting his hand over the mic? It gave him a chance to grab the pricing guide— "Three souls of the dearly departed. Maybe we could work out some kind of bulk discount, or frequent flyer points..."  
  
Riku's eyes darted around the page. This wasn't his forte either. Give him a house with slime oozing from the walls or a chair that kills whoever sits in it, but spreadsheets? Have mercy. "So that would come to... $2,300." That seemed high. That seemed _really_ high, especially when they lived in this apartment.  
  
There was a rustling on the other end of the line, more murmured talking, before Axel was back. "Client doesn't have that."  
  
"Well... $2,000? If he's going to be a frequent flyer, then—"  
  
"How about $1,000 and a baby alligator, and we'll call it a day."  
  
Did he hear that right? Riku was sure a thousand was low, but the extra bonus caught him off guard. "Axel, do... _you_ want the baby alligator?"  
  
"It's a pretty good deal. Remember Riku, you owe me— Not as much as Naminé, but I think you should consider this offer."  
  
"Where are you going to keep—" Riku heard Naminé coughing. It was a wet choking sound. No matter how much she tried to hide it, Riku could feel how hard this hit her. He could almost see her, wrapped up in her big fluffy blanket, her eyes hanging heavy from how this sickness was draining her. He'd surrounded her with bottles of medicine that he only vaguely knew about, but whenever he asked she would smile, thank him, and say what he should do next. The last thing he wanted was for her to come help him through the call. She shouldn't have to do that. She shouldn't be trying to work when she's this sick! "Alright, $1,000. Alright. You keep the alligator as a... a referral gift."  
  
"Sounds perfect. See you tomorrow, kiddo."  
  
The phone blooped and the call was over. Riku looked down at the phone, not 100% on whether that went well or not. Kiddo? That wasn't a good sign, but for his first business call, as long as he didn't lose the gig, he called it a win. What next... Getting those bones made into soup, right. He tossed the carcass bits into the pot, threw the lid back on, and called it the second most macabre thing he'd done in this kitchen this month.  
  
Back to important business. Muffling his footsteps the best he could, Riku crept back to the living room to check on Naminé. He leaned in to peek around the corner before coming in, but she was already looking right at him. So much for stealth. Her eyes were brighter now, but her face was so pale... "Good morning," he hummed, crossing the room to sit next to her blanket nest.  
  
She only gave a hum in return, closing her eyes and leaning toward him... not quite on him, the puff of blankets didn't let her lean that far. Riku tucked her runaway bangs behind her ear and she pulled her face into the nest. Her sleepy embarrassment... He'd never get over it.  
  
_**He'd never get over her.**_  


 

* * *

[a.r.guile]

 


End file.
